No. 29 Squadron of the
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...
was first raised as a unit of the
Royal Flying Corps
"Through Adversity to the Stars"
, colors =
, colours_label =
, march =
, mascot =
, anniversaries =
, decorations ...
in 1915, and is one of the world's oldest fighter squadrons. The second
British squadron to receive the
Eurofighter Typhoon, it is currently the
Operational Conversion Unit (OCU) for the Typhoon.
History
First World War
This unit was first raised as a reserve squadron, initially equipped with the
Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establish ...
c, in November 1915. In early 1916 however No. 29 became the fourth squadron to receive the
Airco DH.2
The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater.
The d ...
"pusher" fighter, and arrived in France on 25 March 1916
[Jones 1928, p. 147.] – helping to end the
Fokker Scourge and establish Allied
air superiority
Aerial supremacy (also air superiority) is the degree to which a side in a conflict holds control of air power over opposing forces. There are levels of control of the air in aerial warfare. Control of the air is the aerial equivalent of c ...
in time for the
Battle of the Somme
The Battle of the Somme ( French: Bataille de la Somme), also known as the Somme offensive, was a battle of the First World War fought by the armies of the British Empire and French Third Republic against the German Empire. It took place bet ...
.
[Jones 1928, pp. 158–160.]
By late 1916 the DH.2 was outclassed by
new German fighters, but No. 29 kept its pushers until March 1917, when it was re-equipped with
Nieuport 17
The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier N ...
s. These were replaced with later Nieuport types, such as the
Nieuport 24bis, as these became available. Due to a shortage of the
Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fast ...
a the squadron retained its Nieuports until April 1918. At this time the squadron finally received the S.E.5a, which it retained for the rest of the war.
The award of a
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...
– the highest award for valour "in the face of the enemy" in the British Empire – to Captain
James McCudden
James Thomas Byford McCudden, (28 March 1895 – 9 July 1918) was a British flying ace of the First World War and among the most highly decorated airmen in British military history.
Born in 1895 to a middle class family with military traditions ...
of 29 Squadron was gazetted on 2 April 1918, for McCudden's "conspicuous bravery, exceptional perseverance and a high devotion to duty", between August 1917 and March 1918.
October 1918 was a bitter month for the squadron; an American volunteer, Lieutenant Joseph Patrick Murphy was the first to fall on 8 October and become a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
. British Ace
Claude Melnot Wilson
Lieutenant Claude Melnot Wilson DFC (16 September 1898 – 14 October 1918) was a Canadian World War I flying ace credited with eight aerial victories.
Early life
Claude Melnot Wilson was the son of Margaret and Charles Hurst Wilson of Vancouve ...
was next to fall, on 14 October and
Guy Wareing
Captain Guy Wilbraham Wareing (23 July 1899 – 27 October 1918) was a British World War I flying ace credited with nine aerial victories.
Biography
Wareing was born in Latchford, Warrington, Lancashire, the son of Frederick William Wareing, a ...
was shot down on the 27 October.
After a short period with the army of occupation in Germany, the Squadron returned to the UK in August 1919 and was disbanded on 31 December 1919.
[ The squadron ended the war having claimed 385 victories. Apart from those already mentioned, the 26 aces who served with the squadron included:
* Edgar O. Amm
*]Norman Brearley
Sir Norman Brearley, (22 December 1890 – 9 June 1989) was a commercial and military pilot and one of the pioneers of the airline industry within Australia.
Early life
Born in Geelong, Victoria on 22 December 1890, Brearley moved to Perth, ...
* Sydney Brown
* Edgar G. Davies
*Francis James Davies
Flight Lieutenant Francis James Davies (20 October 1889 – 7 March 1941) was a British World War I flying ace credited with twelve aerial victories. He would briefly return to service during World War II.
Early life
He was born the youngest s ...
*Thomas Sinclair Harrison
Major Thomas Sinclair Harrison (born 8 January 1898 in Cape Colony) was a World War I fighter ace credited with 22 aerial victories. He was a balloon buster, as he destroyed two enemy observation balloons. This made him the fourth highest sco ...
* D'Arcy Fowlis Hilton
*Ernest Charles Hoy
Captain Ernest Charles Hoy DFC (6 May 1895 –22 April 1982) was a Canadian First World War flying ace, officially credited with 13 victories. He later pioneered airmail flight over the Canadian Rockies.
Early life and service
Hoy was servi ...
*Arthur G. Jones-Williams
Captain Arthur Gordon Jones-Williams (6 October 1898 – 17 December 1929) was a World War I flying ace originating from Wales. He was credited with eleven aerial victories. In 1929, he made two attempts at setting a nonstop flight record.Centenni ...
* Camille Lagesse
* William Molesworth
*James Dennis Payne
Captain James Dennis Payne was a World War I flying ace credited with fourteen aerial victories.Shores, et al., p. 299.
Early life
Payne was born in Leamington Spa on 22 July 1896, the son of Edward Dennis and Annie Payne, his father was a poli ...
* Arthur Reed
* Charles G. Ross
* Reginald H. Rusby
* Alfred Shepherd
*Christoffel Venter
Major-General Christoffel 'Boetie' Venter , (1 November 1892 – 20 February 1977) was a South African military commander.
Military career
He joined the 7th Mounted Rifles in 1912 then the 5th SAMR in August 1914 for service in South West Af ...
*Walter Bertram Wood
Lieutenant Walter Bertram Wood (25 October 1898 – 11 November 1917) was a British World War I flying ace credited with thirteen confirmed aerial victories.
Early life and background
Wood was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, the younger son o ...
Inter-war years
The squadron was reformed on 1 April 1923, initially equipped with Sopwith Snipes. These were replaced by Gloster Grebes in January 1925, In turn, these were replaced by the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin IIIA in March 1928 and Bristol Bulldogs in June 1932.[ In March 1935, nearly twenty years after it was first raised as a single-seat fighter squadron, the squadron received two-seater ]Hawker Demon
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...
s, which it operated until 1938. This included service in Egypt from October 1935 to 1936, during the Abyssinian crisis
The Abyssinia Crisis (; ) was an international crisis in 1935 that originated in what was called the Walwal incident during the ongoing conflict between the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Ethiopia (then commonly known as "Abyssinia"). The Leag ...
.[ As part of the Royal Air Force’s modernisation and expansion in the late 1930s, No. 29 received Bristol Blenheim IF heavy fighters in December 1938.][
]
Second World War
No 29 began the Second World War
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
with its Blenheims, which at the period operated as day fighters – especially on convoy protection patrols. From June 1940 it became a night fighter squadron, receiving some of the first Beaufighters in November, though it was February 1941 before the squadron was fully equipped with the new fighter.[ Various marks of the ]de Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
were flown by the squadron from May 1943 culminating in the Mosquito NF30.[
]
Post-war
During the immediate post-war years the squadron remained a night/all weather fighter unit. The Mosquitoes continued to serve until replaced by Gloster Meteor NF11s in August 1951.[ In November 1957 the squadron moved to RAF Acklington in Northumberland where it was re-equipped with ]Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined T-tailed delta-wing subsonic night and all-weather interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. The last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name ...
s.[ In July 1958 to ]RAF Leuchars
Royal Air Force Leuchars or RAF Leuchars was a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located in Leuchars, Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. Throughout the Cold War and beyond, the station was home to fighter aircraft which policed northern UK airspac ...
in Scotland.[ In February 1963 No 29 moved to ]Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
and in December 1965 went to Ndola in Zambia
Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
for nine months on detachment during the Rhodesian crisis.[ A single aircraft was written off when all undercarriage legs failed to come down on 2 June 1966.
]
From May 1967 the squadron operated the English Electric Lightning F.3 based at RAF Wattisham
Royal Air Force Station Wattisham or more simply RAF Wattisham is a former Royal Air Force station located in East Anglia just outside the village of Wattisham, south of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England. During the Cold War it was a major front- ...
near Stowmarket in Suffolk
Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...
[ until December 1974 when they re-equipped with the McDonnell F-4 Phantom and moved to ]RAF Coningsby
Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and hom ...
in Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...
.[ In May 1982, a detachment of 3 Phantom FGR2’s were deployed at Wideawake airstrip on ]Ascension Island
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory o ...
during the Falklands War
The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...
. On completion of repairs to the runway at Stanley
Stanley may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
Film and television
* ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film
* ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy
* ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short
* ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...
in August 1982, the squadron deployed 9 aircraft south to the islands, the first arriving on 17 October 1982 flown by the then officer commanding Wing Commander Ian Macfadyen.
In 1987, 29 Squadron was one of the first RAF units to receive the Tornado F3
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986 ...
, deploying to Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was an operation conducted by Iraq on 2 August 1990, whereby it invaded the neighboring State of Kuwait, consequently resulting in a seven-month-long Iraqi military occupation of the country. The invasion and Ira ...
in August 1990 and participating in Operation Desert Storm
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
. No. 29 flew the Tornado until disbanding in 1998, as part of the Strategic Defence Review.[ The squadron was reformed in 2003, this time as the Typhoon operational conversion unit (OCU).][
]
Badge
The badge of the squadron shows an eagle in flight preying on a buzzard, symbolising air combat. The motto in Latin is ''Impiger et acer'' - 'Energetic and keen'.
Squadron markings and the "misspelled Roman numeral" tradition
Since the late 1920s, the squadron marking has been three (red) Xs (XXX). Since this closely resembles the Roman numeral
Roman numerals are a numeral system that originated in ancient Rome and remained the usual way of writing numbers throughout Europe well into the Late Middle Ages. Numbers are written with combinations of letters from the Latin alphabet, eac ...
for "29" (XXIX) there is a belief among current squadron personnel that this originated as a "misspelling" of the Roman numeral. Although various versions of the tradition are put forward, the most common explanation is that a mis-understood instruction to ground crew to paint "2 X's in front of the roundel
A roundel is a circular disc used as a symbol. The term is used in heraldry, but also commonly used to refer to a type of national insignia used on military aircraft, generally circular in shape and usually comprising concentric rings of differ ...
and IX behind it" meaning "X,X,(roundel), and 'IX' or 'one-X'" resulted in "XX(roundel)'one times' X". In fact, the marking was always applied as "XXX(roundel)XXX" or as "XXX(roundel)" on smaller types, such as Siskins. Another version is that the original adoption of "XXX" for the 1930s squadron marking was nothing to do with Roman numerals, but was a reference to the brewers' mark for "extra strong", frequently applied to kegs of beer, and that it is only a coincidence that this resembles the numeral for "29" (XXIX).
However, as the original squadron markings on the Gloster Grebe consisted of FOUR Xs, it is likely both versions above are apocryphal, and the four Xs were just a suitable geometric shape that were shortened to three to fit the smaller space on the Armstrong Whitworth Siskin.
Summary of aircraft operated
*Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2
The Royal Aircraft Factory B.E.2 was a British single-engine tractor two-seat biplane designed and developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory. Most of the roughly 3,500 built were constructed under contract by private companies, including establish ...
c 1915–1916
*Airco DH.2
The Airco DH.2 was a single-seat pusher biplane fighter aircraft which operated during the First World War. It was the second pusher design by aeronautical engineer Geoffrey de Havilland for Airco, based on his earlier DH.1 two-seater.
The d ...
1916–1917
*Nieuport 17
The Nieuport 17 C.1 (or Nieuport XVII C.1 in contemporary sources) was a French sesquiplane fighter designed and manufactured by the Nieuport company during World War I. An improvement over the Nieuport 11, it was a little larger than earlier N ...
/24bis 1917–1918
*Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5
The Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5 is a British biplane fighter aircraft of the First World War. It was developed at the Royal Aircraft Factory by a team consisting of Henry Folland, John Kenworthy and Major Frank Goodden. It was one of the fast ...
a 1918–1919
* Sopwith Snipe 1923–1925
* Gloster Grebe 1925–1928
* Armstrong Whitworth Siskin III a 1928–1932
* Bristol Bulldog 1932–1935
*Hawker Demon
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircra ...
1935–1938
* Bristol Blenheim 1939–1940
*Bristol Beaufighter
The Bristol Type 156 Beaufighter (often called the Beau) is a British multi-role aircraft developed during the Second World War by the Bristol Aeroplane Company. It was originally conceived as a heavy fighter variant of the Bristol Beaufort ...
1940–1943
*De Havilland Mosquito
The de Havilland DH.98 Mosquito is a British twin-engined, shoulder-winged, multirole combat aircraft, introduced during the Second World War. Unusual in that its frame was constructed mostly of wood, it was nicknamed the "Wooden Wonder", or ...
1943–1951
* Gloster Meteor NF11 1951–1958
*Gloster Javelin
The Gloster Javelin is a twin-engined T-tailed delta-wing subsonic night and all-weather interceptor aircraft that served with Britain's Royal Air Force from the mid-1950s until the late 1960s. The last aircraft design to bear the Gloster name ...
FAW.9 1957–1967
* English Electric Lightning F3 1967–1974
* McDonnell Douglas Phantom FGR2 1974–1987
*Panavia Tornado F3
The Panavia Tornado Air Defence Variant (ADV) was a long-range, twin-engine interceptor version of the swing-wing Panavia Tornado. The aircraft's first flight was on 27 October 1979, and it entered service with the Royal Air Force (RAF) in 1986 ...
1987–1998
* Eurofighter Typhoon F2 2003–present
* Eurofighter Typhoon FGR 4 2007-present
See also
*List of Royal Air Force aircraft squadrons
Squadron (aviation), Squadrons are the main form of flying unit of the Royal Air Force (RAF). These include Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS) squadrons incorporated into the RAF when it was formed on 1 April 1918, dur ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
* Franks, Norman; Bailey, Frank; Duiven, Rick. ''The Jasta War Chronology: A Complete Listing of Claims and Losses, August 1916 - November 1918''. Grub Street, London., 1998. .
* Halley, James J. ''Famous Fighter Squadrons of the RAF: Volume 1''. Windsor, Berkshire, UK: Hylton Lacey Publishers Ltd., 1971. .
* Halley, James J. ''The Squadrons of the Royal Air Force & Commonwealth 1918–1988''. Tonbridge, Kent, UK: Air Britain (Historians) Ltd., 1988. .
* Jefford, C.G. ''RAF Squadrons, a Comprehensive record of the Movement and Equipment of all RAF Squadrons and their Antecedents since 1912''. Shropshire, UK: Airlife Publishing, 1988 (second edition 2001). .
* Jones, H. A. ''The War in the Air: Being the Story of the Part Played in the Great War by the Royal Air Force: Volume II''. History of the Great War. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928.
* Rawlings, John. ''Fighter Squadrons of the RAF and their Aircraft''. London: Macdonald and Jane's Publishers Ltd., 1969 (second edition 1976). .
* Robertson, Bruce. ''Aircraft Camouflage and Markings, 1907–1954''. Letchworth, Harleyford Publications, 1957.
* Shores, Christopher; Franks, Norman & Guest, Russell. ''Above The Trenches: A Complete Record of the Fighter Aces and Units of the British Empire Air Forces 1915–1920''. London: Grub Street, 1990. .
External links
RAF Squadron page
Official Eurofighter site
{{DEFAULTSORT:No. 29 Squadron Raf
Education in Lincolnshire
Military units and formations established in 1915
029 Squadron
029
1915 establishments in the United Kingdom